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Spurs centre-back Van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's decision to part ways with ex-boss Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's two-year tenure came to an end a mere over two weeks after he guided the team to victory in the European final, delivering the club's first major trophy in nearly two decades.

However, this European success was not matched in the domestic league, with the side ending up in a disappointing 17th position in his last season at the helm.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the off-season, but Spurs are presently 11th in the table, with 22 points from 16 games, following a 3-0 loss to Forest on Sunday.

"He was a really good manager. I have a lot of respect for him," the Dutch defender told The Overlap podcast.

"I'm not sure how everything went behind the scenes. It came as a shock. It was strange how everything went after - he is the coach that brought a trophy to the club," he added.

"Afterwards, when he was dismissed, I sent a message to my dad and my friends and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

Initial Success and Subsequent Struggle

The Australian manager joined Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic before the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, amassing 26 points from his opening 10 league matches.

However, that fine start came to an abrupt end with four losses in five games, and the team's season tailed off, ultimately failing to secure Champions League qualification by a mere two-point margin.

The following season, they won just 11 out of 38 league matches.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international the defender believes the team was missing a "plan B" and disclosed he and defensive partner Romero spoke about adopting a more cautious style with the manager.

"I enjoyed the attacking football under Postecoglou but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more solid defensively. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

"Initially under Postecoglou, no team was used to playing against our style. We were playing exceptional football."

"But, coaches study everything and people figured out what we were doing. Sometimes we didn't really have a backup plan and we were being caught out. We didn't have solutions to resolve it."

"On one occasion me and Romero walked up to the gaffer and said we need to adjust tactically and play more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was like, 'I understand with you but I want you two guys to sort this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"